The emotions from USC’s loss to Notre Dame remained fresh Sunday and were accompanied by a stark prospect for the Trojans. It could get worse.

Coach Lane Kiffin will go 7-6 in his first season if the Trojans lose to UCLA on Saturday. That mirrors his record last year at Tennessee, but Trojans fans will feel less forgiving if Kiffin leads USC to its worst record since 2001.

“That’s well below our standards,” Kiffin said. “We’re extremely disappointed. I don’t know that very often you’re sitting at 7-5 and would have the lead in 11 of 12 games in the second half. We need to build our roster up and play better and coach better.

“It’s just a very difficult season to deal with. To be sitting here at 7-5 is not easy. We’re in our first year here and we’ve got to do a better job coaching so that we can finish games off, so that we’re sitting here (next year) with a different story.”

Notre Dame hangover

Kiffin admitted the Trojans were depressed watching film of their 20-16 loss to the Irish, which snapped USC’s eight-game winning streak in the series. He also said he was concerned how they would bounce back against the Bruins.

“Sure, you have to worry,” he said. “None of them imagined they would lose this game. It’s really hard to picture this happened. The ball is in the air, and everybody’s thinking (wide receiver Ronald Johnson) is going to catch it and the streak is alive.

“Obviously we hope Matt plays for us,” Kiffin said. “He’s anticipating himself playing. He was in today and feeling a lot better.”

Dig at defense

Kiffin criticized his defense, which gave up touchdowns at the end of the first and second halves against Notre Dame, something that was not unusual this season.

“We’ve probably set a record for the worst two-minute defense in the history of college football,” Kiffin said. “The amount of points and yards we’ve given up is just astounding.”

Johnson upset

Kiffin said Johnson was despondent after the game following his dropped pass in the final 90 seconds that most assuredly would have been a touchdown.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a player ever take a game or a play harder than Ronald did,” Kiffin said. “He was a wreck after the game. I had him in (the locker room), just me and him. He was so emotional.

“It’s probably my fault because I talked about how important this game was. He felt he let people down. He felt that weight on his shoulders. It’s been very tough for him.”

Johnson did not feel any better when he spoke to reporters outside the locker room.

“I felt like I should have made the play. I let my team down,” he said. “It’s tough to bite this nail right now, but Mitch (Mustain) made a great pass. I should have caught it. There’s nothing I can really do about it now.”

McDonald, Baucham hurt

Kiffin said he would not know if safety T.J. McDonald (separated shoulder) or cornerback Brian Baucham (West Torrance High, arm) would be available against UCLA.

“I’ll have a lot better idea Tuesday,” Kiffin said.

McDonald was replaced by walk-on Tony Burnett, a member of the track team, who recorded 10 tackles. Burnett’s presence begged the question why freshman Demetrius Walker, who is on scholarship, did not play instead.

“If it had been the other safety spot, it would have been Demetrius,” Kiffin said.

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